Refrigerator car



Feb. 10, 1942. G. G. GILPIN REFRIGERATR GAR FiledFeb. 5, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor: Garth G. Gilpin.

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Feb 10, 1942' G. G. GILPIN 2,272,555

REFRIGERATOR CAR Filed Feb. 5, 1940 s sheds-sheet 2 Inventor; Jari/Z Gil/91 n Feb. 10, 1942. G. Q GlLPlN 2,272,555

REFRIGERATOR CAR Filed Feb. 5, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 pil-9? 4 Inven''of.-

art/z G, zZ/0m Patented Feb. 10, 1942 TE STT GFFEQ anraroeasroa can Garth G. Gilpin, Riverside, Ill., assigner to Standard Railway Devices Company, a corporation of Delaware 7 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigerator cars used to transport perishable commodities at a predetermined temperature. The essential features of a refrigerator car are an insulated body to prevent or retard ingress of heat during warm weather and egress of heat during cold weather and a cooling means and a heating means to be used during warm and vcold weather respectively.

This invention applies particularly to cars in which the cooling means, preferably containers for water ice, eutectic ice, brine or dry ice, are disposed immediately below the roof of the car. The lading is supported in spaced relation to the floor by a foraminous rack. Flues, preferably associated with the side walls of the car, communicate between the cooling means and the space under the oor rack to provide a path for the Icirculation of air. The path is from the cooling means downwardly through the aforementioned flues, through the space under the floor rack,r upwardly through the lading compartment thereby cooling the lading, and finally to the cooling means from where the cycle is repeated.

An object of my invention is to provide a car i `of the above described overhead bunker type having fewer refrigerant containers than the conventional overhead bunker car, thereby reducing the cost of the car, as well as the weight thereof.

Another object of the invention is to extend the refrigerant containers substantially across the car; that is, between the side walls, and to provide air inlet openings between the containers. The spaces between the containers interrupt the continuity of the cold air supply to the upper ends of the side wall flues and it is, therefore, a further object of the invention to provide side wall flues which are tapered or diverge downwardly so as to provide a substantially continuous supply of cold air to the space below the door rack and thence to the interior of the car.

Another object of the invention is to provide deectors to direct the upwardly iiowing warm air to adjacent the refrigerant containers, thereby preventing undue turbulence in the ow of air.

Another object is to provide hatches at substantially the center of the car for loading refrigerant into the containers. Hatches thus positioned would interfere with the running board as conventionally positioned, but in one modication of my invention I show the running board moved toward one side of the car so as to allow room for the hatches at the center.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following detailed description by referring to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal elevational section of a refrigerator carl embodying my invention; the section being on line I-l of Fig. 3.

Fig. 2 is a plan section of the car taken above the refrigerant containers, as indicated by the line 2 2 of Fig. 3. v

Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the refrigerator car on line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to the upper part of Fig. 3 showing an alternate arrangement of hatches and running board.

The side walls 2 of the car shown in the drawings comprise inner (3) and outer (5) side sills and inner (6) and outer (8) side plates with inner posts l0 extending between and secured to the inner sill 3 and inner plate 6 and outer posts I2 extending between and secured to the outer sill 5 and outer plate '8. sheathing lll is secured to the exterior of the Iouter posts l2 to form the outer boundaries of the walls 2. Flue sheets lli are secured to the inner Aposts li) and have outwardly projecting panels Il formed therein between the posts Ill. Lining I8 secured in flatwise relation to the flue sheets I6 provides flues 2S between the lining I9 and the ue sheet panels Il. The walls 2 are insulated by suitable insulation 22 interposed between the sheathing lli and the ue sheets I6. n

The roof structure 2l comprises outer roof sheets 28 and ceiling 3l) in spaced apart relation with suitable insulation 3l interposed therebetween. A plurality of refrigerant containers 33, which preferably extend substantially between the side walls 2, are disposed below the roof structure 21 and adjacent thereto. The refrigerant ycontainers 33 are preferably spaced apart longitudinally of the car and a hatch 34 is provided in the roof 2l above each container 33 for loading refrigerant thereinto, There is preferably an enclosure Sii for each refrigerant container 33 comprising a drip pan 3i below the container 33 in spaced relationthereto and eX- tending between the side wall linings i9. Partitions 39 are secured in an upstanding position at the free or transverse edges d@ of the drip pans 3l' and spaced from the ceiling 3l) to form air inlet openings 42 into the enclosures 36. The partitions ..39 of adjacent enclosures 36 are spaced apart to form ducts 43 for upward flow of warm air from the lading compartment 45. Deflectors 4E, such as for example the V-shaped channels 48, are disposed within the ducts 63 to direct air into the air inlet openings 42.

The floor structure 52 comprises a sub-floor 53 extending between and preferably supported by the outer side sills 5 and a main oor 55 extending between and preferably supported by the inner side sills 3. Suitable insulation 56 is interposed between the main fioor 55 and subfloor 53. Any suitable type of floor rack 58 may be used which has a foraminous upper surface 55 spaced above the main floor 55, and as illustrated, the rack 58 is composed of spaced apart slats 59 supported by spaced apart stringers 6I which provide the space S2 below the floor rack 58.

Circulation of air in the car illustrated is as follows:

Air adjacent the refrigerant containers 33 is cooled by contact with the exterior thereof or with the refrigerant contained therein and falls by reason of its greater density through either or both of the side wall flues Z0 into the space 62 below the foraminous floor 59. The air rises through the lading compartment l5 absorbingr heat from the lading during passage therethrough and flows through the ducts 43 and air inlet openings l2 into the refrigerant container enclosures 36 where it is re-cooled by contact with the containers 33 or the refrigerant and repeats the cycle just described.

It may be noted in Fig. 1 that the refrigerant containers 33 are spaced apart longitudinally of the car. It is apparent, therefore, that cold air is not supplied to the tops of the side wall fiues 2li continuously longitudinally of the car and that the spaces between the containers interrupt the cold air supply. Some of the side wall fiues are, therefore, arranged to diverge toward the bottom of the car; that is, their Width (55) is greater at the bottom as shown in Fig. l, so that at the space G2 below the floor rack there is a substantially continuous ue and, therefore, a substantially continuous supply of cold air.

In the modification shown in Fig. 3, the hatches 'Iii are disposed at or near the longitudinal center line ll of the car, which space is conventionally occupied by the running board. The running board 'F3 is accordingly moved toward one side of the car suciently to clear the edges 14 of the hatch frame l5. The advantage of this arrangement is that refrigerant may be more easily loaded into the containers 33 because each part of a container 33 is relatively nearer to the hatch 10. Fig. 4 shows an arrangement wherein the running board 18 is located in its conventional position and the hatch 19 is disposed near one side of the car. Part of the refrigerant container 33 in this arrangement is a considerably greater distance from the hatch 'I9 than in the arrangement of Fig. 3 and the arrangement of Fig. 4 is therefore undesirable in this respect.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof, within the scope of the claims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

l. In combination with the walls, roof and iioor of a refrigerator car. a forarninous rack arranged to support a lading above the floor and to provide a space therebetween, a refrigerant container adjacent said roof, an enclosure for said container said container and enclosure being short relative to the length of said car, a flue associated with one of said walls and communicating at its upper end solely with said enclosure and at its lower end with said space for flow of cold air, said flue diverging toward the lower part of the car and an air inlet opening to said enclosure.

2. In combination with the walls, roof and fioor of a refrigerator car, a foraminous rack arranged to support a lading above the floor and to provide a space therebetween, a pair of spaced apart refrigerant containers adjacent said roof, spaced apart enclosures for said containers, a pair of flues associated with one of said walls each communicating at its upper end solely with one of said enclosures and at its lower end with said space for iiow of cold air, said iiues diverging toward the lower part of the car to form a substantially continuous iiue adjacent said space, and air inlet openings to said enclosures.

3. In combination with the walls, roof and floor of a refrigerator car, a foraminous rack arranged to support a lading above the floor and to provide a space therebetween, a refrigerant container adjacent said roof, an enclosure for said container said container and enclosure being short relative to the length of said car, a plurality of ues associated with one of said walls and communicating at their lower ends with said space for flow of cold air, some of said flues having a uniform width and communicating at their upper ends solely with the central part of said enclosure and others of said ues diverging toward the lower part of the car and communicating at their upper ends solely with the end parts of said enclosure, and an air inlet opening to said enclosure.

4. In combination with the walls, roof and floor of a refrigerator car, a foraminous rack arranged to support a lading above the floor and to provide a space therebetween, a refrigerant container adjacent said roof and extending substantially between said walls, an enclosure for said container said container and enclosure being short relative to the length of said car, a flue associated with each of said walls and communicating at its upper end solely with said enclosure and at its lower end with said space for fiow of cold air, said flues diverging toward the lower part of the car, and an air inlet opening to said enclosure.

5. In combination with the walls, roof and floor of a refrigerator car, a fora-minous rack arranged to support a lading above the floor and` to provide a space therebetween, a refrigerant container adjacent said roof, an enclosure for said container, a flue associated with one of said walls and communicating between said enclosure and said space for flow of cold air, said flue diverging toward the lower part of the car, an air inlet opening to said enclosure, and a deflecting member inclined upwardly toward said opening to direct air thereinto.

6. In combination with the walls, roof and floor of a refrigerator car, a foraminous rack arranged to support a lading above the floor and to provide a space therebetween, a pair of spaced apart refrigerant containers adjacent said roof, an enclosure for each of said containers, a pair of dues associated with one of said walls, each communicating between one of said enclosures and said space for flow of cold air, said flues diverging toward the lower part of the car, air inlet openings to said enclosures disposed at the adjacent sides thereof and a V-shaped deecting member disposed between said enclosures and having an arm inclined upwardly toward each of said openings to direct air thereinto.

7. In combination with the Walls, roof and floor of a refrigerator car, a foraminous rack arranged to support a lading above the oor and to provide a space therebetween, a pair of spaced apart refrigerant containers adjacent said roof, an enclosure for each of said containers, a pair of ues associated with one of said Walls, each communicating between one of said enclosures and said space for ow of cold. airfsaid flues diverging toward the lower part of the car and air inletl openings to said enclosures disposed at the adjacent sides thereof.

GARTH G. GILPIN. 

